Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Black Wind Squad
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Seeing the masked intruders charging into the Blood River Sect, sparks flew from Namgung Hyeok's eyes.
Who the hell would storm into the Blood River Sect dressed like that from Jiangsu Province?
These already suspicious bastards were attacking without a word?
There was only one answer.
'It's those fuckers!'
The reason Namgung Hyeok had turned the southern Jiangsu region upside down!
'Goods thieves!'
The moment those four characters blazed clearly in his mind, Namgung Hyeok drew his sword without a shred of hesitation.
Chaaang!
Sword drawn, Namgung Hyeok charged toward the enemies before anyone could stop him, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Goods thieves! Catch those bastards!"
His booming shout made the Namgung Family warriors' eyes go wide.
What?
Goods thieves?
Out of nowhere?
But there was no time to voice their doubts.
Namgung Hyeok had already thrown himself into the wave of oncoming masked figures.
Paeng Jung-hyuk and the others were stunned.
"You crazy bastard! Why charge in alone!"
"Young Master Yi! Young Master Yi!"
"Goddamn it, he's lost it again?"
No amount of numerical disadvantage could stop Namgung Hyeok when his eyes were like that.
It was too late to hold him back.
If they couldn't stop him, they had no choice but to follow.
Namgung Ryong and the Thunder Dragon Squad were already chasing after Namgung Hyeok, clashing with the masked intruders, and Paeng Jung-hyuk and the rest hurriedly jumped into the fray.
Namgung Hyeok leaped forward with a whoosh.
Like a fierce bird of prey, Namgung Hyeok locked eyes with an approaching masked man.
The moment the masked man's eyes bulged like saucers and he flinched, Namgung Hyeok smashed the flat of his blade into the man's cheek with full force.
Smaaack!
"Puh-haaack!"
The masked man's jaw spun as his body flew into the air, spinning wildly before crashing into the left wall.
Namgung Hyeok blinked, sword still in hand.
"...Huh? Why are they so weak?"
If these were the owners of the trail that had vanished without a trace, they should have been top-rate experts.
No, that wasn't the point right now!
"Capture them all alive! Take them down!"
They needed to know the goods' whereabouts, so subduing them came first.
Namgung Hyeok began flat-slapping the incoming masked intruders with his sword.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
Those struck by Namgung Hyeok's swinging blade started flying through the air.
"Kuaaaak!"
"Kuh-eok!"
"Kee-eek!"
"B-block them!"
"What the hell is that guy?!"
The enemies, who had charged in with such momentum, panicked.
No one could rein in Namgung Hyeok as he grabbed the masked men like a madman, beating and flinging them aside.
He was a crazed bull.
Every one he barreled into went soaring through the air.
At that terrifying sight, the masked intruders instinctively turned tail.
Waiting for them were Namgung Ryong and the Thunder Dragon Squad, who were at least a bit less insane(?).
"Krahaha! Where do you think you're running?!"
Kwang!
Tak Hyuk-dong grabbed two masked men's heads with both hands and smashed them together brutally.
The two masked men collapsed to the floor, blood pouring from their heads.
Geon Cheon-hwi seized another one and repeatedly smashed the sword hilt into his forehead.
Kwa-kwa-kwak!
"Guk, guk!"
Beside him, Jang Ung shredded a man's thigh with his twin blades.
"Kee-eek!"
With Fire Dragon Flash, Namgung Ryong silently swept through the enemies, clearing a path, sending the masked men into fits.
"C-crazy!"
"R-run!"
"That way...!"
The masked intruders, who had burst in so boldly, now desperately sought an escape route.
Landing in front of the fleeing men were Paeng Jung-hyuk, Paeng Yeon-hwa, and So Hye-yeon.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Kwaaang!
Paeng Jung-hyuk swung his sword and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! These guys are nothing! Or have I just gotten that much stronger?!"
"First strike!"
"I'll kill you!"
The three quickly herded the masked men into the center, stirring up chaos.
The masked intruders couldn't get their bearings amid the rampaging Namgung Hyeok and Namgung Family warriors coming from all sides.
Namgung Hyeok grabbed the hair of the backpedaling masked men one by one and slammed their heads into the walls.
"My!"
Kwaaang!
"Goods!"
Kwang!
"Where!"
Kwaaang!
"Kuaaaak!"
In an instant, masked men were plastered to the walls, and the pupils of the remaining ones, backed into a corner, shook violently.
As they lost the will to fight, staring at the Namgung Family warriors who had surrounded them, Namgung Hyeok walked through the Thunder Dragon Squad ranks, tilting his head sideways.
"Hey, kneel."
* * *
The hundred masked intruders knelt on the floor in a daze.
Namgung Hyeok eyed their shaky, anxious gazes.
"Who the hell are you?"
The apparent leader of the masked men narrowed his brows fiercely, then shouted with force in his eyes.
"We are the Black Wind Squad!"
"...."
With his thunderous voice, the masked man glared around with bulging eyes, but he flinched at Namgung Hyeok's subtly narrowing brows and the weird atmosphere.
'What the...?'
Before he could voice his confusion, Geon Cheon-hwi let out a hollow chuckle.
"Black Wind Squad, huh."
"Kuhahaha! Did those lunatics just say Black Wind Squad?"
"Sounds like it."
"They must be a special kind of crazy."
Even Paeng Jung-hyuk and So Geol-gae couldn't hold back their snickers.
"Black Wind Squad, my ass."
"Even this beggar never dreamed these guys were the Black Wind Squad. Ha!"
The unexpected reaction left the masked man flustered.
As they sneered and stared in disbelief, he furrowed his brows.
"You villains! We came here as the Black Wind Squad to return the goods and wealth you stole to the common folk..."
"Black Wind Squad my ass, what bullshit!"
Paaaak!
"Kuek!"
The masked leader crumpled to the floor after a smack to the back of his head.
The masked men flinched in confusion.
Namgung Hyeok gave a hollow laugh as he looked at them.
"Which thieving bastard's name are you selling? Pathetic. Proud of stealing other people's stuff?"
...Isn't that you?
The Namgung Family warriors stared at Namgung Hyeok with blank eyes.
Even as their gazes stung his face, Namgung Hyeok pressed on undeterred.
"Anyway, you unorthodox scum. If you had any sense, you wouldn't talk back, right? Bury you or drown you?"
"...."
"Rip off their masks!"
At Namgung Hyeok's beckoning finger, the Thunder Dragon Squad rushed in and stripped the masked men's faces.
Even those who resisted at first quieted down under the Thunder Dragon Squad's "gentle" touch(?) and handed over their masks obediently.
That was when all the masks came off.
So Geol-gae's eyes bulged as he jumped forward.
"Huh? Songbaek Sword Sect?"
"What?"
"Those are Songbaek Sword Sect warriors. And that one's the Songbaek Sword Sect Master!"
So Geol-gae pointed at the prone Songbaek Sword Sect Master.
"Huh? That's Yi Sword Sect uniform?"
"Hm?"
"Wait, this one's from Blood Oath Sect?"
Each time So Geol-gae pointed, the indicated masked men panicked and hurriedly covered their faces.
They were plenty shocked.
He identified them just from their faces.
Namgung Hyeok let out a hollow laugh.
"What a damn mix-and-match."
Songbaek Sword Sect Master Go Dae-gil flinched and looked at Namgung Hyeok and the others.
"Y-you bastards! We are the Black Wind..."
"Black Wind?"
"I'm not Go Dae-gil, the Songbaek Sword Sect Master, I'm from the Black Wind..."
"Fuck!"
As Namgung Hyeok glared, Go Dae-gil meekly lowered his eyes.
"Where's that?"
"Small-to-mid righteous sects from Jiangsu Province. Looks like they got robbed of their goods too. They must've banded together to hit the Blood River Sect."
"Righteous sects?"
"Yes, righteous."
"So..."
Namgung Hyeok turned his head.
Finally, the faces of the Jiangsu righteous alliance warriors came into clear view.
Swollen faces, noses streaming blood, bruised skin...
"Those guys are righteous too?"
"Yes, righteous."
"That one?"
"Yes, him too."
"And that?"
"Yeah, told you."
Well, damn, righteous sects.
All of them righteous.
Whoops, ended up beating on righteous sects?
"Righteous sects forming an alliance to steal? Does that even make sense? What righteous sect has nothing better to do than thieve..."
Namgung Hyeok gave an awkward laugh as he looked at the dazed Jiangsu righteous alliance warriors.
"Man... turned them into mush."
Such a colorful mess...
Namgung Hyeok cleared his throat awkwardly.
"So why the hell wear masks looking all suspicious like that?"
That's what caused the misunderstanding.
He wasn't entirely blameless either.
They came charging first, so he counterattacked... a bit too aggressively, but still.
Go Dae-gil and the Jiangsu alliance warriors showered him with sullen glares.
"...."
Namgung Hyeok grinned at Songbaek Sword Sect Master Go Dae-gil.
"Hahaha, hahahaha! Oh my, it's Sect Master Go. Why didn't you say something?"
"I'm not Go... Go Dae-gil..."
"Must've been some silly misunderstanding."
"M-misunderstanding?"
"Haha, just a little one!"
Namgung Hyeok grinned as he hauled the prone Go Dae-gil to his feet. Go Dae-gil struggled, but at Namgung Hyeok's light tug, he shot up like a weed pulled from the ground.
"What are you lot doing? Floor's still cold. Hurry and untie them. Important guests!"
"Y-yes? Yes!"
The Thunder Dragon Squad, bewildered, released the subdued Jiangsu righteous alliance warriors.
The people stared at Namgung Hyeok with blank eyes.
'That's not like him?'
'What's with the sudden act?'
'What the hell's he scheming?'
If his accompanying warriors were baffled, how must Go Dae-gil feel?
Go Dae-gil gawked at the grinning Namgung Hyeok.
Namgung Hyeok flashed a smile.
"I failed to recognize fellow allies with the same goal."
"F-fellow allies...? What are you talking about?"
"You want to find your goods, right?"
"....!"
"So do we. Right? Of course."
Namgung Hyeok smiled warmly at the puzzled Go Dae-gil.
"The Black Dragon Sect are the ones who stole our goods."
At Namgung Hyeok's words, So Geol-gae sighed.
'Spouting lies without a drop of spit. When did the Black Dragon Sect become the culprits?'
Everyone else was equally baffled.
But Go Dae-gil, unaware of the truth, stared wide-eyed at Namgung Hyeok.
'B-Black Dragon Sect? They stole our goods?'
A name he never would've guessed.
Those guys from Zhejiang Province?
Namgung Hyeok laughed.
"Same goal means we move together, right?"
"...How can we trust and follow you? And the opponent is the Black Dragon Sect—leagues above trash like Blood River Sect! Risking our lives..."
"I'm Namgung Hyeok, Second Young Master of the Namgung Family. This is Paeng Jung-hyuk, Young Heir of the North Hebei Paeng Family. Over here, So Hye-yeon, Sword Pavilion's Young Sword Prodigy. That beggar's So Geol-gae of the Beggars' Clan, and this is my brother, Namgung Ryong."
Namgung Hyeok removed his mask and introduced everyone politely one by one.
Go Dae-gil's eyes shook wildly.
"Th-the Five Great Families, Beggars' Clan, and Sword Pavilion too?! N-no way!"
He looked at Namgung Hyeok with trembling eyes.
Figures he could only dream of meeting his whole life had suddenly appeared before him?
And these were the Five Great Families' stars who shone in the recent martial tournament!
"B-but why the masks..."
"Everyone has their reasons. Like your sect scaling the walls."
"R-right you are."
Namgung Hyeok cut him off smoothly and smiled.
"We'll join you. Let's find the goods the Jiangsu alliance lost unjustly—together! Isn't this righteousness, the way of the Five Great Families?"
"Young Master Yi!"
Go Dae-gil looked at Namgung Hyeok and the others with eyes brimming with emotion.
Paeng Jung-hyuk and the rest screamed inwardly.
'Crazy! Selling out the family?'
'Why drag us into this?!'
'Righteousness my ass! And why am I just a Beggars' Clan beggar?!'
Amid the bewilderment, Namgung Ryong nodded firmly and gave a thumbs-up.
"...."
The Thunder Dragon Squad sighed deeply at the sight and began packing their belongings.
They sensed their fate.
Namgung Hyeok chuckled as he gazed at the Jiangsu righteous alliance warriors now folded into his group(?).
'Good, reinforcements secured.'
Now just raid the Black Dragon Sect.
'If you touched even a hair of my goods... Oh, right, you already did? You're not dying easy, for real.'
Namgung Hyeok sneered, grinding his teeth at the Black Dragon Sect, now officially the thieves of his goods.